Dayton Dugas' game-winning homer lifts Wichita State over Oklahoma State
Dayton Dugas broke a tie game with a two-out home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning to help lift Wichita State to a 7-5 victory over Oklahoma State in a midweek game at Eck Stadium on Wednesday.
The home run was the 100th career hit for Dugas, a junior, and proved to be the difference in a win over a Big 12, top-50 RPI team. The No. 22-ranked Shockers improved to 20-6, while OSU fell to 15-11-1. It was the second win over a Big 12 team this season for WSU, which also defeated Oklahoma, 2-1, in March.
Luke Ritter (three), Alec Bohm (two), and Dugas (two) all had multi-hit performances to lead the Shockers, while six pitchers combined to close out the game for WSU with Chandler Sanburn registered his fifth save of the season.
WSU never trailed in the game, as it led 2-0 after the first inning. Greyson Jenista, Paxton Wallace, and Trey Vickers drew walks, then Gunnar Troutwine delivered a two-out, 2-RBI single to give starter Preston Snavely an early lead.
Snavely struck out four OSU hitters through two innings, but gave up three straight hits and two runs in the third inning to concede his lead. The Shockers rallied in the bottom-half of the third for three runs to re-take the lead, scoring runs on a wild pitch, a RBI groundout by Troutwine, and a RBI single by Dugas.
Oklahoma State would again tie the game, first plating a run in the fourth and then tying the game, 5-5, with two more in the sixth with RBI hits from Michael Neustifter and Carson McCusker.
That set up Dugas' heroics in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Shockers will host their first American Athletic Conference series at Eck Stadium this weekend against Tulane in expected chilly temperatures. Friday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m., Saturday's game is at 2 p.m., and Sunday's finale is at 12:30 p.m.
This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Dayton Dugas' game-winning homer lifts Wichita State over Oklahoma State."